Destination Unknown
by Sharem
Summary: AU-A Spectre, Nihlus Kryik and his protégée, C-Sec Officer Garrus Vakarian, are sent to evaluate Captain Willow 'Wisp' Shepard, as a Spectre candidate to help fight in the Krogan Rebellions. Easier said than done. Full Summary in Prologue.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: Mass Effect is owned by Bioware and EA Games. I just play their games.

**Summary**: AU. The Citadel Council celebrated the end of the Rachni Wars with the induction of the newly discovered turian race as a member of the Council, while the krogan, uplifted by the salarians, were celebrated as galactic heroes. 1200 years later, the Council races were embroiled in a bitter war against the krogan and it seemed that the krogan were beginning to win. A new space-faring race was revealed; a race that had been in a short, but brutal war, against the batarians. A race that the batarians called the 'Sleeping Giant'…humanity. The Systems Alliance, humanity's military and extra-solar parliamentary government, was approached by the Council to help them against the krogan. 26 years after first contact between the Alliance and the Citadel Council, Spectre Agent Nihlus Kriyik, and his protégée, C-Sec Officer Garrus Vakarian, are sent to evaluate Captain Willow 'Wisp' Shepard, commander of the new prototype frigate, SSV Normandy SR-1. They are to convince her to join the Spectres to fight in the Krogan Rebellion…a task easier said than done. Shepard is a powerful biotic, blunt and to the point. Her crew respects her but she is known as the 'Ice Bitch' for her cold demeanor to her enemies...and to those she does not know or trust. And for some reason, she really does not trust turians.

**Rating**: M – for language, sexual innuendoes and situations, possible violence

**Pairing:** Eventual FemShep/Garrus, with a bit of Nihlus thrown in

**AN**: I've been having problems in keeping my crossover Mass Effect/Firefly story, Edge of Heaven, going due to lack of inspiration. So, I decided on starting my Mass Effect AU story that I have had in the back of my mind for a few months now. I will say that I will most likely be a little erratic in my updates, since I've been replaying both ME and ME2 several times, plus Dragon Age: Origins. Yes, I am a Bioware fan…I recently got a PC copy of Neverwinter Nights from a garage sale… .:chuckles:. Anyway, this story IS definitely an AU.

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**Destination Unknown**

**Prologue**

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**Year – 2157 CE**

The asari councilor glanced at the datapad before handing it over to her salarian counterpart. She watched his various facial expressions as he read through the report. She could tell that he was mildly disturbed at the report. She knew that she was.

"Is this information correct?" the salarian asked as he handed the datapad to the turian councilor. "It almost seems…inconceivable that this could have happened."

The turian sighed and nodded as he took back the datapad and placed it on his desk. "For years, the batarians had given us nothing but trouble with their demands that the Skyllian Verge be declared a zone of batarian interests. They knew that we could not grant them that and had refused to help us against this war with the krogan."

He took in a deep breath and glanced at his fellow councilors. "We don't hear anything from the batarians for the past ten years and suddenly, about six months ago, I received a report from the captain of the turian ship, _Varakan_, with news that the batarian Hegemony was requesting aid from the Citadel. I had sent Spectre Tela Vasir to investigate what has been happening with the batarians."

The asari councilor nodded. "Ah yes. Agent Vasir is one of our best operatives and a powerful biotic. She would be a wise choice to send into the Terminus Systems."

The turian tilted his head in agreement and brought up a holographic display for the asari and salarian to see. On it was a small piece of information pertaining to the decline in batarian military activity and some more disturbing news came out. On it was an image of an unknown sentient species, similar in build to an asari but the armor and helmet covered up the alien's appearance.

"Agent Vasir found out that the batarians had been in a war with this new species for the past decade," the turian managed to say after a few minutes of silence. "From what she had gathered, these new aliens were activating a dormant relay, Relay 314 I believe, and a batarian patrol attacked them, thinking that they were going to try and steal their so-called territory in the Verge."

A chime rang throughout the councilor's office and a tall asari in armor entered the room. She bowed her head at the councilors. "Councilor Valern, you asked to see me?" she asked in a dignified voice.

Valern nodded and pointed to a seat, indicating that the asari should sit down. He ran his gloved talons in exasperation over his face when she refused, wanting to stay standing. "Agent Tela Vasir, I asked you to come today to verbally give your report to the other councilors and your opinion on this new sentient species."

Vasir narrowed her eyes for a moment at the turian councilor before turning her attention to the others in the room. "For the past few months, I had been infiltrating the batarian government to gather intel on why the Council had not received any news on why they left Council space. The Hegemony is close to becoming bankrupt due to their war with these new aliens and that is why they had been requesting aid."

"And what is your opinion on this, Agent Vasir?" the salarian councilor asked, genuine curiosity burning in his eyes.

"Personally, I say let the batarians rot," Vasir stated, her dislike of the four eyed aliens apparent on her face. "They brought this upon themselves when they attacked those aliens. These aliens call themselves humans when referring to themselves individually and call themselves humanity when referring to their species as a whole.

"With what little intelligence that I gathered on the batarian homeworld about these humans, I made my way to one of their colonies in the Exodus Cluster to learn more about them. They…are a fascinating species, I must say. On the colony they call Eden Prime, I learned that their homeworld, Earth, is currently in the middle of environmental cleanups due to their industrialization about two hundred years ago and early bootstrap space exploration. They have a very strong military fleet and an extra-solar government called the Systems Alliance. That is why the batarians are losing the war against the humans. The batarians call them the 'Sleeping Giant' and I agree with that assessment."

There was a curious look on Valern's face when he heard that. He leaned back in his chair for a moment before looking at his fellow councilors. When Vasir called these new aliens the 'Sleeping Giant', it sent a chill down his spine. "Why do the batarians, and you, call the new aliens that?"

"Because usually less than two percent of their population voluntarily joins their military," Agent Vasir answered, secretly enjoying the looks of shock that permeated the faces of the council members. "And from what I was able to gather, their population on their colonies number in the millions already…and on their homeworld, their population is well over eleven billion. But in this war against the batarians, 3 percent of the human population is now in the military and it is still growing. The batarians have indeed wakened a giant; a giant that will decimate and destroy them entirely if they do not surrender."

The asari councilor appeared to think for a moment before standing to face the Spectre and the other two councilors. "I have a proposal, one that would stop the war between the humans and batarians and help us with the problem with the krogan. I suggest that we make first contact with this Systems Alliance and negotiate terms that would end their war. If we manage to get the humans on our side, we can request their aid to stop the krogan rebellions."

"Now, wait a minute, Councilor," Valern began to protest. "Aside from Agent Vasir's report, we know next to nothing about these humans! What if they are as savage as the krogan? They would overrun everything this Council has built! We have traditions that got back for more than a millennia and you want to jeopardize that with an introduction of a species we know nothing about?"

With disgust, Tela Vasir slammed her hands on the turian's desk, stopping his rant and getting the others to stare at her. "I have had _enough_ of your crap! I spent a month with a human family on Eden Prime! They knew I was an alien and yet they sheltered me. The father, a retired captain from the Alliance military, is an honorable and decent man. He took an oath not to tell any one of my existence and his wife and children made me feel at home. I know that not all humans are like them, but from what I had seen, and experienced, most humans are honorable, compassionate, and resolute in their beliefs! In my not so humble opinion, humanity would be a great asset to the Citadel and to the council!"

"You're out of line, Spectre!" Valern nearly roared, his mandibles flaring in anger and agitation. But before he could continue, the salarian councilor held up a hand.

"Agent Vasir has a unique perspective because she has actually spent time with the humans, and she is one of our best operatives," the salarian stated calmly. "She would know the best course of action that we should take."

"Agreed," the asari councilor conceded. "Spectre Agent Tela Vasir, due to your rather singular situation, what would you suggest our actions with the humans should be?"

Glancing around the room, Vasir glared slightly at the turian and straightened as she faced all three councilors. "I say that we contact this Systems Alliance and convince them to recognize Citadel authority, and have them help us against the krogan."

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**AN**: I know, a little short, but I am not big on details or length when it comes to prologues. But hey, I needed to get this out of the way. Anyway, Chapter One will begin 26 years later in year 2183 CE. For a little info, in this AU, The First Contact War was with the batarians, not the turians and began in the year 2147 CE and has lasted for a decade. As for the names of the councilors, I really don't know them so if anyone can tell me, that would be great. Also, Spectre Agent Tela Vasir is a real character and is from the DLC Lair of the Shadow Broker. I was going to use Saren at first, but there are some things from the original timeline that I wanted to keep the same. Saren becomes the youngest turian Spectre in 2159 CE when he is 20 years old. I saw that in the timeline that's on the Mass Effect Wiki. The female Shepard in this story is one that I'm currently playing on ME and trying to get her to level 60 before I import the game into ME2. I'll have more info on her at the end of the first chapter.

Anyway, I hope people will like this AU… .:smiles:.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: Mass Effect is owned by Bioware and EA Games. I just play their games.

**AN**: From here on out, any Author's Note will be at the end of the chapter unless there is something important that I need to address... .:smiles:. Full summary of the story is in the prologue.

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**Destination Unknown**

**Chapter 1**

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**Year – 2183 CE, Earth date April 9**

"How are things coming along?" a dark skinned male human asked, as he entered a small office. He glanced at the young woman sitting at a desk and rummaging through a rather large pile of datapads sitting on top.

"Anderson, I don't know how you did it," the woman replied, wanting to tear her hair out by the roots. "How did you ever pick the right person to join whatever ship you served on? This is my first command assignment since being promoted to Captain and I have to pick my own command staff…You _know_ I'm not good with this shit."

Captain David Anderson smiled at his protegee with pride showing in his dark eyes. He chuckled for a moment, earning a dark glare from the woman. "Shepard, you're much better than you even know," he answered, humor lacing his voice. "Your mother must be very proud of you, your first command being on a prototype warship."

Shepard sighed for a moment and leaned back in her chair, abandoning the datapads for the moment. She touched her hair for a moment and was relieved that the black, glossy mess she called hair was still in its high and tight bun. She still wasn't sure that it was the right idea for the Alliance brass to grant her command of the SSV _Normandy_, but she knew that she would do the best she could. After all, she was the only child of the well-known Hannah Shepard, captain of the dreadnought _Kilimanjaro_ and being in the military was in her genes.

"She is…I got a package from her yesterday. The letter in it stated that since I am following a long line of Shepards who have became officers, I should have the sword that's been in the family for generations. She said that it was part birthday present and part congratulations on being promoted."

Anderson's eyebrows rose for a moment. "She sent _Thorn_ to you? I thought that it would forever remain with her."

Shepard chuckled slightly. "Anderson, you've known Mom for much of your career. You should have known that the family sword would go to me as soon as I made captain."

"True, but I was hoping that she would be keeping it…"

"You're just sorry you lost the bet!" the raven-haired woman laughed, her bright green eyes crinkling with amusement. She laughed even harder when she saw a look of shock on the older man's face. "I know you and Admiral Hackett had a bet on whether or not Mom would give me the sword." She reigned in her mirth when she caught Anderson's mock glare, so she just kept on grinning.

"Anyway, I did sort of figure out that you may need some help on choosing the key members of your new crew," Anderson replied as he pulled up a chair to sit in front of Shepard. "First, have you decided on who's going to pilot the _Normandy_?"

The new captain nodded as she pulled out a datapad that was set apart from the others. "Flight Lieutenant Jeff 'Joker' Moreau is the best candidate for the job." She held up a hand to stop the man from speaking out. "I know that many people have issues with Joker, but I've known him for a while now. You know that he compensates for everything because of his disease. His snarky nature is why the two of us get along quite well. I'll need that if we ever get into any tight situations and…"

"And what?" the older captain asked warily, not liking the mischievous look in those green eyes staring back at him.

"And Joker is the best person to have when you need to put some arrogant officers and crewmen in their fucking place. He should be listed as a dangerous weapon with that sarcastic mouth of his."

Anderson just shook his head, but he knew that Shepard was right. Joker may rub people the wrong way, but he always got his point across. Clearing his head for a moment, he went to ask another question. "Do you know who you want as your Executive Officer?"

Shepard shook her head. "No, I don't, sir. The dossiers I have on potential XOs are adequate, but hardly any of them seem to match well with my personality."

Anderson placed a new datapad on top of the one the woman currently had in her hand. "If I may make a suggestion, Navigator Pressly would be an excellent choice. He got his field commission at Elysium…"

"The Skyllian Blitz," Shepard whispered, her eyes closing for a moment. She let the memories of the attack wash over her for a moment, remembering the screams of civilians as batarian pirates attacked the colony. "I think I remember Pressly. After the pirates were routed back into Terminus, a few groups of officers and soldiers came down to help with clean up and burying the dead. He was a little stand-offish at first, but when he found out that I was the one who held off the majority of the pirates…let's just say that I gained an ardent fan that day." She chuckled for a moment.

Anderson laughed quietly at that statement and then looked at Shepard in the eyes. "He is one hell of a navigator and I think you would make a mistake if you don't ask for him."

The younger captain sighed and looked at the datapad that Anderson had given her. Her eyes briefly skimmed over the information before laying it down on the desk. "It says here that he's still serving as a navigator on the _Agincourt_."

"I've already taken the liberty of having Pressly come here to the L5 station and meet with you." Anderson laughed heartily when he received a glare from the younger woman. "Look, I've known you, Wisp, and your parents ever since I enlisted and was selected to enter the N7 program. You know that I'm here if you need anything and to help you."

"Thank you." Shepard allowed a small and tender smile to appear before continuing. "I'm guessing you used your influence to pull Pressly from his current assignment…who else did you have in mind then?" At that, Captain Anderson began discussing who would make up the best crew for the _Normandy_…

**Meanwhile…**

"Nihlus, are you sure we're suppose to be here?" a turian with a light tan coloring and blue facial markings asked, watching various people walk around L5's passenger terminal. He felt out of place with all the humans around. There were other aliens around, such as asari and salarian, since L5 was a major space station and port that orbited the human homeworld of Earth. He then glanced at his companion, another turian that had a dark coloring and white markings that were more elaborate than his own.

Nihlus chuckled softly and watched his protégée's mandibles quiver in nervousness. "Garrus, calm down. Yes, we are supposed to be here. The Council wants me to assess this human, Captain Shepard, as a Spectre candidate. And since I'm your mentor, you have to come with me to observe how a candidate is evaluated to be a Spectre." He then picked up his bag and motioned for Garrus to follow. "Come now, we wasted enough time and we need to find our hotel. Once there, we'll go over this Captain Shepard's dossier."

It only took a few minutes for the two turians to find their hotel. The human receptionist took notice of the two when they entered and immediately gave them the room number of their temporary residence. It was apparent to Nihlus that this frail-looking female was nervous because of himself and his protégée being turian. He bade the woman a thank you and chuckled somewhat at her relieved appearance when they made their way to the elevators.

Garrus grumbled slightly as the elevator seemed to take a long time to reach their floor. "We have some of the most advanced technology in the galaxy and no one seems to know how to make these things go any faster."

Nihlus shook his head and laughed as quietly as possible. "I'm guessing that the engineers of elevators want us to enjoy the view."

"Enjoy the view my ass," Garrus complained under his breath, drawing yet another amused glance from his mentor. "I just hope that I don't get stuck in one of these with someone I despise."

The older turian smirked, his mandibles quivering in amusement. When the elevator finally reached their floor, he led Garrus down the hallway to what was to be their room for the next few weeks. When they entered their room, it had a couple of beds off to one side, a table large enough for the two of them, a kitchenette, and a small bathroom.

Nihlus looked around and shrugged. He had stayed in placed that were much worse than this…actually, he had _lived_ in places much worse than this, long before he became a Spectre. He set his bag by one of the beds and gestured for Garrus to do the same. He then took out a console out of his bag and set it on the table and turned it on. Now it was time to check on Shepard's dossier. He sat down and started typing on the holographic keyboard and indicated to his protégée to sit next to him.

"Here is the dossier the Council sent," the Spectre remarked, information coming up on the holographic screen. "It isn't much, though. This is a listing of assignments, some of which are classified. See this section?" Nihlus asked, pointing to a few paragraphs about Elysium. When Garrus nodded, Nihlus continued. "It's a small account on what happened on the human colony of Elysium. Shepard single-handedly held off those batarian pirates and slavers until help arrived. It takes courage, strength and skill to be able to manage a feat like that. This account here is from one of the colonists. He stated that Shepard took command of the situation, keeping everyone alive and giving orders to the surviving military personnel."

Blue turian eyes widened as he read the Elysium accounts. "Fascinating…too bad she isn't a turian. Can you imagine how many mating proposals she would have if she was?"

Nihlus chuckled for a moment and turned off the console. He stood up and made his way over to the door. "Very true, Garrus. However, we aren't here to discuss the improbabilities of Shepard as a turian." He then swiped his hand in front of the holographic display by the entrance, opening the door and gestured for his protégée to follow. "Come let us find some food. I'm sure that there is an eatery nearby that serves dextro-amino based cuisine."

**XXXX**

Shepard left her office later than she had planned. Captain Anderson had some very helpful tips on her future command and with his help, she was able to pick out her command staff. She sent in her decision to Alliance Command and decided to call it a night. She sighed a little as she made her way to a small restaurant called _The Melting Pot_ close to a hotel that catered to aliens and humans. _The Melting Pot_. The name of the place always made her laugh…she supposed it was the owner's way of making a joke since there were quite a few aliens around now.

She entered the small establishment and quickly glanced around. It was busier than she had expected, but reasoned that it was right around dinnertime. Shepard noticed that the bar still had a few seats left open and made her way there. There were a couple of turians already sitting at the bar, but she tried not to pay too much attention to them. It wasn't that she disliked them, but the one experience with a turian she had met years ago…let's just say that it did not leave a good impression on her.

"Oy, Rufus," Shepard called out, getting the bartender's attention as she sat a couple of barstools to the left of the turians. The blonde middle-aged human hurried over to her and placed a shot glass with some amber liquid and a bottle of Jack Daniels.

"Ya want yer usual, Shep?" Rufus asked as he watched the woman down the shot glass quickly.

Shepard shook her head. "Not this time, Rufus. What's the special tonight?"

The man shrugged for a moment. "I think it's an asari dish…can't fully pronounce it, but it _looks_ tasty…I think."

The captain laughed, her green eyes crinkling with amusement. "All right, just get my usual then, Rufus." The bartender laughed along with her as he left to go put in her order. She swiveled the barstool around to observe the patrons. It was mostly human, but there was a decent amount of aliens as well. There was a good mixture of asari and salarian, with the occasional volus. And now her attention was placed on the only two turians in the restaurant. This made her pour a shot of whiskey in the shot glass, down it quickly and do it again at least two more times before stopping.

Nihlus was looking up when he noticed the human female enter. She was wearing an Alliance officer's uniform and her black hair was pulled up in tight, high bun. She had an aura about her that exuded confidence, skill and danger. He took a sip of water from his glass so he could watch the human surreptitiously. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Garrus was doing the same thing. Inwardly, he mused that his protégée had never really seen a human woman up close before.

When she sat down just a couple seats away from them, the Spectre kept an eye on her as he conversed with Garrus. There was a long scar on her right cheek and a couple of small scars on her bottom lip. '_She had seen battle_,' he thought to himself.

"Are all human females like that?" Garrus whispered, his blue eyes furtively darting back and forth between his mentor and the woman. "The ones back at C-Sec were hard and…well, cold."

Nihlus chuckled, the flanging effect made the woman glance at him for a moment after the bartender left. "I think that it's just the ones who've served in the military, Garrus. Remember I had you read up on human history, especially on their culture?" When the other turian nodded, Nihlus continued. "It has only been within the past two hundred years that human women have been seen as equals of a sort. There are parts on their planet where the females are still seen as chattel and slaves even as humanity is becoming a major part of the galactic community."

"I see," Garrus replied as he listened to his mentor's explanation. He turned his head to fully take in the woman near them. He was accustomed to seeing asari back on the Citadel and seeing humans had taken a bit of getting used to. He supposed that this woman was decent looking, even with the scar on her cheek. She then noticed him staring at her.

"What?" Shepard ground out, her eyes narrowing at the blue eyed turian. "Why the fuck are you staring at me?"

Before the C-Sec officer could say anything, Nihlus intervened. "I apologize for my colleague's rude behavior. He has not seen many human females before, just the few that are in C-Sec back on the Citadel." The cold look he received from the woman was unnerving. He was one of the best Spectres in Council space, but this woman was slightly intimidating…well, only just.

Shepard glared at the two turians, balling her hands unconsciously. But before she could say anything, a man dressed in a tailored outfit leaned in between her and the two aliens. She glared at the newcomer with such venom that Garrus thought that the human man should have keeled over and died.

"Hey, babe, I'm new here and I'm Jason. So how about we chat a bit? That getup you're wearing makes you look hot and I just love women in uniform. We could have…a meeting of minds." The man smiled lecherously at Shepard, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Shepard brushed the man's hand off and narrowed her eyes at him. "We can't possibly have a meeting of minds."

"Why not?" Jason asked, his eyes roving over her figure. This made both Nihlus and Garrus uneasy. They saw the way that the woman's body was starting to tense up and her hands became fists.

"You obviously didn't come prepared. And you're definitely not _man_ enough for me," Shepard drawled out, her mouth twisting into a smirk. "You're a civilian. From the look of your clothing, you sit in an office all day. My guess is that you're a pencil-pusher who just isn't getting what he needs at home." She leaned forward, her posture becoming menacing. "I'm with the Alliance, and I get to do _dangerous_ things, and that can sometimes mean _killing _whoever gets in my way."

The bartender came out and set down a takeout box on the counter near Shepard. She looked at Rufus and nodded. "Thanks Rufus, put it on my tab." She glared once again at the man who dared to proposition her. "And right now, _asshole_, you are in the way of _my_ dinner. I highly suggest that you go home to your wife, repent your sins and never come here again. You get me?"

Jason squeaked and nodded, quickly making his exit. The captain laughed slightly at the cowardly way the man left and stood up, taking the takeout box with her. She glanced at the turians and rolled her eyes at them. Just as she turned to leave, Rufus called out.

"Hey Shepard, I forgot to congratulate you on your promotion!" he said loudly as she laughed and waved. When she finally left the restaurant, the two turians looked at each other.

"Nihlus…that was…Captain Shepard…She's the one we're supposed to evaluate?" Garrus asked skeptically, going back to staring at the door.

Rufus turned his head to study the turians. They seemed to be an okay sort to him and he thought that maybe he should give the two a heads up. "If the two of ya plan on talkin' to Shep, ya need to know a couple of things about her."

This made Nihlus pay attention to the bartender. "Such as what?" he asked, becoming quite curious about the woman he might be mentoring in the future.

"I served with her before I was given an honorable discharge from the Alliance. One thing that is never put into our files is how we are thought of by those who serve under us. She's called the '_Ice Bitch_' and with good reason. I'm not gonna tell ya why though. All I'll tell ya is that she does _not_ like turians."

With that, Rufus left to finish some orders from the other patrons. '_Wonderful_,' Nihlus thought sarcastically as he finished his water and food. '_Getting Shepard to join the Spectres is going to be harder than I thought_.'

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**AN**: And here is a good stopping point for this chapter. Sorry it took awhile to get it done, but the past couple of weeks have been a little…trying, to say the least. Anyway, this is just sort of a meet and greet chapter…a little longer than I expected though. And a big thanks to those who reviewed and put this story in your favs/alerts. It really made me feel good to see some people liking this already.

The thing with the sword will be explained later on as it ties into her family history.

By the way, this story has no beta, and I would like to have one. If anyone is interested, please send me a PM.

**Edit .2010**: Fixed a couple of things...thanks to _Bluumberry _for noticing the mistakes.


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